It was a bittersweet day for Rural Retreat fans.
Rick Boyd coached his final match, guiding his Indian crew to a second place finish at the 1A wrestling state tournament at the Salem Civic Center.
While one former Indian champ fell short, another one took his place.
Junior Parker Stone claimed a state title at 106 pounds, beating Grundy’s Tanner Hartford 5-2.
Ely Blevins gave the Indians another state title, nabbing his second at 132 pounds with a pinfall win over Grayson County’s Aaron Peterson.
Rural Retreat had nearly every wrestler at the tournament place. J.W. Webb hauled home a silver at 113 pounds, losing by pin in the finals to Adam Gibson of Castlewood. Mason Via, a junior at 152 pounds, settled for silver, too, losing 9-3 to Lebanon’s Cole Jessee. Two-time state champ Eli Fortuner rounded out his high school career with a silver, losing a 1-0 nail-biter to Levid Rodriguez at 220 pounds.
The Indians hauled home a trio of bronze medals.
Brandon Combs, at 120 pounds, handed Chilhowie’s Nate Widener a first-period pin to claim third.
At 145 pounds, senior Justin Martin notched third too with a 9-2 decision over Jax Allebaugh of Riverheads 9-2. Fellow senior Colton Terry picked up a bronze as well, pinning Lancaster’s Tate Wilmore.
Terry took third in a rematch with Wilmore, this time sticking the Lancaster heavyweight.
Senior Carter Rouse took fifth at 195 pounds, pinning Mathews’ Malachai Dixon in his final match.
Three George Wythe wrestlers placed.
Senior Cody Davis brought home the silver for GW at 160 pounds, losing a 10-3 decision to Grundy’s Ethan Roberts.
At 106 pounds, Jaxon Ward took fourth place, falling by pin to Castlewood’s Sam Gibson in the third-place bout. Senior Olivia Waller took sixth place at 113 pounds, losing by pin to Franklin’s Sam Harrison in the fifth-place match.
